Half a Soul
by A.L. Grey1
Summary: Sam and Dean search for a way to heal Sam's damaged soul. As they search, they pick up a job in a college town dealing with beheaded sorority girls.
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first SPN fanfic and I hope that you enjoy it. It reads like an actual episode that could have taken place in season 6 (after soulless!sam got his groove back)but with a few changes. There are a couple of characters in my story that are gone from the show but I brought them back because I love them. Characters are cannon. No slash. I don't own any of the characters…just borrowing them for a minute for some fun. _

Half a Soul

Bobby shut the laptop and looked up at Sam and Dean with a shrug, "You asked. I told ya."

They were all in Bobby's front room, surrounded by dusty books, empty bottles of whiskey, and the strong smell of gasoline. Bobby's place always had the odor of an old garage.

The brothers shared an expression of doubt but Dean spoke first, "Soul mates? Come on. I thought we asked you to help, not get lost on ."

Bobby glared back at him, "After all the weird things you've seen are you really going to doubt the existence of anything? Look, I know it sounds like something out of a Disney movie but from what I've read, it's a real thing."

Sam shook his head and sat down heavily on an old leather couch, "So you're saying that somewhere out there is my…other half?"

"Probably your better half too," Bobby said, getting out of his desk chair with a groan. He walked over to one of his many bookshelves and pulled out a large, dark red book. He opened it and flipped the pages until he found what he was looking for, "It's not like this is a new idea, really."

He passed the book to Sam who studied the open page, "Soul mates recognize the energy of each other's souls. Blah, blah, blah…True mates are bound for all of life, after life, or in the case of reincarnation, all future lives." Sam breathes out a gust of air, "That's heavy."

Dean grabbed the book from Sam and paced the room holding it, "Predestination? Twin flames? Zodiacal life matches? This reads like a Lifetime movie script." He snapped the book shut and tossed it onto Bobby's desk with a heavy thud.

"It's a long shot and it might be a complete waste of time but what's the harm in checking the idea out? It's not like you have any other clues on how to fix Sam," Bobby said, looking back and forth between the brothers.

Sam leaned back into the couch, making the worn leather creak, "So this person…" He rolled his eyes at the thought, "…My soul mate, might be able to heal me?"

Bobby picked up the book, shooting Dean a look of annoyance and placed it back on the shelf it came from, "Yep. I don't know how or if it's even true but that's what I've found. In fact that's just about the only thing I've found about healing one's soul or in your case, rebuilding part of it."

"And where are we supposed to find this…" Dean's eyes grew wide and he looked at Sam, "Dude...What if your soul mate is a …..dude."

Sam shot Dean a sour look, "Shut up, Dean. You aren't helping." He reached over to the messy side table that was covered in old papers to grab a half empty bottle of scotch. He took a gulp, letting the burn rip down his throat.

Bobby went back to his desk chair and sat down, crossing his arms over his chest, "It will be someone that Sam is naturally compatible with. So unless Sam has been keeping us in the dark and himself in the closet…I'm fairly sure it will be a woman. She might be four hundred pounds of soul healing goodness but…

Sam took another long drink.

An hour later Dean and Sam were on the road. They decided to head to the Road House and see what Ash could come up with as far as a possible soul mate location.

"We've checked out some stupid things but this…." Dean shook his head, his eyes glued to the road in front of him, and his hand gripping the top of the wheel. "This is ridiculous."

Sam agreed but Bobby had been right. What were their other options? The hallucinations had been getting worse and he couldn't remember the last time he had slept more than an hour straight without waking up in a cold sweat, choking back screams. It wasn't just that. He was starting to _feel _different. He couldn't easily explain it even if he wanted to but it was almost like he was in pain all the time. There was a dull ache, something deep in his chest, that never stopped hurting. It was progressively getting worse and Sam wondered how long it would be before it consumed him. Yeah, the idea of a soul mate was long shot but the thought that there was no cure wasn't something he was ready to accept.

They had reached the Road House by dusk and clambered through the door. The bar was fairly empty with just a couple older men at the table in the back corner swapping war stories and sharing a pitcher of beer.

Sam noticed Jo staring at Dean and grabbed his brother's shoulder, "I'm going out back to look for Ash." He nodded a greeting at Jo as he briskly walked towards the door marked _employees only. _That was one conversation Dean could take on alone. There was only so much Jo/Dean banter he could handle.

He found Ash in one of the storage rooms stacking cases of Coors, "Ash, you got a minute?"

Ash stood up and flipped his hair back off his shoulder, "Sam the man! What can I do ya for?" He stood up and propped his foot up on one of the many stacks of boxes.

Sam quickly explained Bobby's soul mate theory and asked if there was anyway to formulate a possible search area. Ash blinked a few times and was silent. After a moment he cleared his throat, "So you want me to locate you a date. Sam if you need a lay I can point you in the direction of a lovely corner in a fairly decent part of Oklahoma where…"

"No. Not what I mean, Ash."

He shrugged, "Alright, man. Let's get to my computer."

Ash sat in Ellen's desk chair in the back office and opened up his laptop. The computer hummed to life and Sam sat across from him in an old, orange chair that looked like it had come from the seventies. He watched Ash as he clicked rapidly on the keyboard, "So how exactly do you plan on figuring this out. It's not like we have weather patterns to work with this time."

Ash was quiet for a few seconds, continuing to tap the keys on the computer in rapid succession before he looked up and answered Sam, "Well, how do you feel about answering a few personal questions?" He waggled his brows up and down and Sam chuckled, "Sure. I guess. I should probably be getting nervous now, right?"

"Only if talking about your favorite sexual positions make you froggy," Ash said in a deadpan voice, going back to staring at the screen and typing.

Thirty minutes later, Ash spun the screen around and showed Sam a map with an area highlighted in light blue, "What's this?"

"This is the most probable area for your soul mate to exist. If she does in fact exist. Now, I'm not for certain that this will work but if she is anywhere in the world…My best guess is that she is here." Ash pointed to the map on the screen and then clicked a button to zoom out.

"North Texas? Why North Texas?" Sam took the laptop from Ash and zoomed out again, studying the area.

"I asked you questions. I did a little formula work that I won't confuse your simple mind with and this is what I got." He shrugged and grabbed the laptop back. Pushing another button, he printed the map out and handed it to Sam. "There's a few colleges in that highlighted radius. I'd start around there. "

Sam nodded as he looked over the map again, "Thanks Ash." He stood and made his way back out to the bar where Jo was popping the top off another beer for Dean, "Can I get you one, Sam?"

"Uh…" He looked over at Dean who had a goofy grin, slightly glazed eyes, and a row of empty shot glasses in front of him. "No, better not. Looks like I'll be driving."

The University of North Texas was pretty much what Sam expected it would be. Manicured grassy areas, shady trees, co-eds hustling around walkways on their way to classes. Dean stopped every fifty feet to check out a sorority girl's ass, "So how are we supposed to find this chick? Pick a hot one and hope for the best?" He looked over at Sam who was making his way towards the campus bookstore, "I'm not sure. Maybe I'll…feel her or something?"

Dean smirked, "Yeeeeeaaah I bet you will."

"Dean, come on. You know what I mean."

"Yeeeeaaaaaah I do."

Sam rolled his eyes and sighed, "Whatever. Let's just go to the busiest places on campus and see what we find."

They were strolling around the bookstore which wasn't as crowed as Sam had hoped, when Dean's cell started ringing.

"Yeah, Bobby. What's up?...Denton, Texas…...No…..No…..What? Here? What do you have? Hmm…Yeah that sounds like something. We'll check it out."

Sam frowned, "What was that about?"

Dean hung up the phone without saying goodbye, "There's a job here. A bunch of sorority girls went missing and then turned up yesterday, back in their rooms, missing their heads."

"Weird," Sam said, still scanning the few people left in the store. "What does Bobby think it could be?"

"He isn't really sure but something's up. Might as well check it out while we are here," Dean said, grinning broadly.

"What are you so excited about?"

"Dude. Sorority murders?"

Sam's face held a confused expression and he shook his head, "So?"

"So? Come on man….We get to investigate a house full of horny, half dressed, sorority girls! What's wrong with you?"

"There you go confusing porn for reality again. I doubt we will walk in on any naked pillow fights."

Dean's eyebrows lifted "Didn't even think about that. Hmm…I'm going to file that mental image away in my happy file for later."

"Look, let's get some lunch then and head over to the house. Bobby tell you which sorority?"

"Kappa Delta. Sounds like a hot one, right?"

After hitting up a local burger place for lunch, Sam and Dean drove up to the Kappa Delta house and parked on the curb. The house was two story, brick place with green and white decorations everywhere. They walked up a stone walkway to the front door and knocked. Dean nudged a green flowerpot with his foot, "Please answer the door naked, please, please open the door naked."

The heavy oak door swung open to a fully clothed girl with short, wavy blonde hair. She gave them a hesitant smile, "Yes?"

Sam and Dean held out their fake FBI identification and Dean spoke for them both, Agent Ulrich and Hetfield. We'd like to talk to you about the recent deaths of your housemates."

The girl frowned, "I've already talked to the police and another FBI agent."

Sam nodded and gave her his best "trust me" look, "We know you've probably been over this more times then you want to but it's important that we get all the facts, Miss…..?"

"Amber. Amber Hannesson. Uh…sure come in I guess. I'm the only one here right now. Everyone else is at class."

Amber walked them into the living room and the brothers took a quick look around. The house looked spotless. Everything was in its place. No weird smells, no blood smeared on the walls, and no naked girls. Dean was disappointed to his core.

"Like I told the police, Beth, Karen, and Jamie just disappeared out of thin air on Tuesday. Then yesterday they showed up again…Well, most of them showed up anyway."

Amber shivered and shook her head, "I'm just glad I wasn't the one to find them like that."

"Who did find them?" Sam asked.

"One of my sisters, Laurie. She isn't even in Denton anymore. Her parents convinced her to come home after she called them and told them what happened. I don't blame her. You don't _unsee_ something like that once it's in your brain and she was a mess."

"Did those three act strangely before they went missing? Did they say anything odd or behave differently than usual?" Dean asked, peeking around the corner still hoping to see some skin.

Amber shrugged, "There was this one thing. I over heard Beth at breakfast last week saying she thought someone had been in her room. Some of her jewelry had been messed with and her pledge pin was gone."

Pledge Pin?" Dean asked, raising his brows.

"Yeah. It's something you get as a member of Kappa Delta. That's why it was kind of strange because we all have one. Why would someone take hers?"

"Did Jamie or Karen say anything similar?" Sam asked walking around the room looking at all the framed photos of smiling girls at various social events.

"No but…." Amber looked down at her feet and scuffed the toe of her shoe on the cream colored carpet.

Sam walked back over to her, "But what?"

Amber let out a sigh, "After the police left and everything was cleaned up, I went into Karen and Jamie's room. They shared one and they always kept their pins in a little tray on their dresser. The pins weren't there. I looked everywhere thinking maybe they just put them some place else but those pins weren't in that room."

"They weren't on the bodies either?" Dean asked and Amber shook her head. "No they only had on what they slept in the night they went missing."

Dean nodded and started towards the door, "Ok. Thanks for your time Miss Hannesson. If you think of anything else let us know." He passed her a business card from his wallet and Sam started following him out the door.

Just before Amber walked inside, Sam turned back to her, "Hey Amber…Do you remember what the name of the other FBI agent was that you spoke to?"

Amber shook her head, "No..but uh…she gave me a card too hold on." She went back inside and returned a moment later, handing the card to Sam. He said thank you again and got into the Impala with Dean.

"What was that about?" Dean asked watching Sam study the card.

"Just curious. If the FBI were on this why would they only send one agent Don't they usually travel in pairs. And I'm not so sure this is something they would get involved in anyway."

"Why not? We're here."

"Yes but we are fakes, Dean."

"Oh…yeah. So what's your point? FBI shows up all the time. And these girls were missing their heads. It's not really that far fetched that this would get their attention."

Sam handed Dean the card Amber had given him and Dean read the name off it out loud, "Agent Dorothy Zbornak. Ok, So?"

"Dorothy Zbornak is a character off The Golden Girls." Sam said in a matter of fact tone.

Dean just stared, mouth half way open and Sam looked over at him innocently, "What?"

"Sammy. I'm embarrassed for you right now," Dean said, turning the key in the ignition. "I don't even want to know how you know that information."

Sam looked out the window, "Jessica watched it all the time. And hey…don't judge me," He said, looking back at Dean. "The Golden Girls was a great show."

Dean shook his head and pulled away from the curb, "Whatever you say, Ethel. So you think there's already a hunter on this case?"

"That's what it looks like. Think we should let Ms. Zbornak handle this one?"

Dean grunted a no, "Nah, I'm sure we'll get this done before she will." He grinned, "Plus my competitive nature has been sparked."

They drove to the public library and parked the Impala in the lot. Dean slammed his door shut and pocketed his keys, "So we're looking for any deaths that occurred in that house."

Sam nodded, opening the glass door to the library, "Yeah or maybe a Kappa Delta that died in some mysterious or gruesome way. Something about those pins is really sticking with me…no pun intended."

"You should have intended it. That was a pretty good one," Dean said as he pulled a chair over to a computer. Sam joined him and he typed key words into a search engine, "Alright. Let's see." After a moment of browsing he stopped, "Here's something." He clicked on a link and started scanning an old newspaper article dated November 1960, "Kelly Granby, 20, found dead in the Kappa Delta sorority house. Self inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Police suspect she was responsible for the murders of her sorority sisters, Janice Wood and Amanda Finch that occurred in late September." Sam continued reading, "Says she was the president of Kappa Delta and was unhappy with the conduct of a few of her sisters. They found pledge pins belonging to Janice and Amanda in Kelly's possession when her body was discovered. "

Sam scrolled down to a black and white photo of Kelly.

"Kind of looks like she had a stick up her ass," Dean said, studying the picture. "Not a hair out of place. Not even the top button undone on her shirt." He glanced up at Sam, "Seemed like she took her position as sorority president a little too seriously."

"Yeah, apparently even after death. I wonder what Beth, Jamie, and Karen did to piss Kelly off. We are definitely dealing with an angry spirit here."

"Does it say where she was buried?" Dean asked, still looking at the online article.

"Oakwood Cemetery," Sam answered, clicking off the site and pushing his chair back.

They headed out into the parking lot and Dean noticed the dark circles under his brother's eyes were more prominent in the sunlight, "We'll wait till dark and head over there, do our thing, and get back on the task of finding the one that heals your soul." He said in a sing songy voice and batted his lashes at Sam teasingly.

Sam wasn't amused, "I'm exhausted and just want to try to get some sleep for a couple hours before we have to dig up this girl's grave."

"I saw a place on the way in that looks like our style. I think it's close to the cemetery too. We can hang there until go time," Dean said as they got back into the car and merged into traffic, heading northwest through town.

_The meat hooks tore at Sam's flesh, ripping off hunks all over his body. He couldn't scream anymore, his throat torn to shreds by all the screams that had came before. Fire lapped at his face, torso, and legs, burning down to the bone. The smell of charred skin and hair permeated his senses and he could even taste the rank, smoky flavor on his own blistered tongue. Everything was tinged red and somewhere nearby Lucifer let out a low, cruel laugh. _

"_You can't escape me, Sam."_

_The voice came from every direction and rattled around in Sam's skull like a jackhammer. His whole body shook with the force of Lucifer's laugh and more hooks tore away from his ribs, taking burnt pieces of him with it._

"SAMMY!" Dean yelled, shaking the hell out of his brother. "WAKE UP!"

Sam's eyes shot open and he sat up straight in bed, gasping and clutching at his sides. He was whole, at least on the outside, and he wasn't on fire or in hell. He blinked sweat out of his eyes and looked around the room. Dean was near his bed, standing over him with a worried look on his face. The space was lit by two lamps in the shape of cowboy boots and the bed sheets Sam was tangled up in had lassos and cowboy hats printed on them. He finally managed to catch his breath and get his mind straight, "Sorry. Nightmare."

"You were yelling so loud the front desk called…And this place rents by the hour so you know it had to sound really bad for anybody to care."

Dean sat down on the edge of his own bed that was still made up, "It took me forever to wake you up."

"Sorry," Sam said again, wiping his face with the back of his hand. "What time is it?"

"Time to head to the cemetery…" He looked hard at Sam, "If you think you can handle it."

"Yeah, of course I can handle it Dean. It was just a bad…"

"Memory of Hell," Dean finished for him and stood from the bed with a heavy sigh. "Don't worry. We'll get this figured out, Sammy."

Sam just nodded and they both started getting ready to leave for Kelly' grave.

A short drive later they were walking through Oakwood Cemetery carrying shovels and a bag full of salt and lighter fluid.

Sam shined his flashlight on headstones until he found Kelly's, "Huh….." The beam of his light traced down the headstone and to the ground around it. It had been freshly dug.

Dean's own flashlight beam met with Sam's and they looked at each other, "The Golden Girl got here already."

Sam dropped his shovel and slid the bag off his shoulder to the ground, "Looks like it. But can we be sure she did it right?"

Dean stuck the end of his shovel into the soft dirt, "Only one way to find out." He started digging, flipping the dirt to the side of the grave. "Hey this is a lot easier when someone's already…"

But his sentence was cut short by a shovel slamming into the back of his head. He went down hard and Sam didn't have time to react before he felt the heavy thud of metal against his own skull.

_To be continued…_


	2. Chapter 2

Sam was first to wake up from his stupor. He rolled his head around on his neck, trying to get his eyes to focus. He was sitting on the ground tied to a tree. The rope job wasn't great and he started struggling in an attempt to loosen them. Next to him Dean groaned, tied to his own tree.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, pushing his chest forward to try and stretch his bonds. "Wake up!"

Another groan escaped Dean and his eyes opened slowly, "What the fu…."

The sound of a shotgun cocking ended his sentence abruptly and both brothers looked towards the noise. It was dark, the moon hidden behind a wall of clouds and they could only just barely make out the silhouette of a person in front of them, leaning against a tree, blending in with its shadow.

"Who are you?" A female voice asked. "Why are you following me?"

"We weren't following anybody, lady." Dean said, his voice low and angry. "So why don't you tell us who the hell _you _are. Wait let me guess…..Dorothy?"

Sam swallowed hard but said nothing. There was a loosening in his chest that didn't have anything to do with the ropes around him.

The woman spoke again, "No offense, Cupcake. But you're the one tied to a tree. I'm asking the questions here."

Dean chuckled darkly and looked over at Sam, "Cupcake? Cupcake?" He thrashed hard against the ropes trying to lunge towards the silhouette, "This cupcake is going to kick your ass!"

"Dean, stop." Sam whispered, his eyes not leaving the shadowy figure. "I'm Sam," He said loudly and squirmed against the ropes, "That's my brother, Dean. You don't have to leave us tied up like this. We won't hurt you."

The woman scoffed, "Right." She grew quiet for a moment and then the brothers heard a rapid intake of breath, "What a minute. Sam and Dean…." There was another pause before the figure moved away from the tree and a bright flashlight was clicked on, shining directly into their faces. "Sam and Dean…..Winchester?"

Dean squinted against the glare, "You're a hunter. You've heard of us?"

"No. No, I'm not a hunter but I have heard of you."

The clouds slid away from the moon and its pale white light returned to the cemetery. The woman moved away from the shadows and stepped closer to her bound captives, keeping the flashlight positioned just right so as not to allow them to see her face, "I already took care of the remains. You have no reason to stay in town."

She tossed a knife on the ground near Sam's bound hands, "It's dull but you'll be able to cut yourself out quick enough. By then I'll be gone. Don't try to follow me. Don't try to figure out who I am. Just leave."

Sam did his best to scoot towards the knife. He had managed to loosen the ties up a little since the rope hadn't been that tight to begin with, "How do you know us if you aren't a hunter?"

"You swing a shovel like a hunter," Dean said, leaning his head back against the tree with a wince. "And you salt and burn remains like a hunter. And you tie knots like a hunter…almost." He looked back down at the ropes restraining him.

The flashlight turned off and the woman was hidden back by a cluster of trees, "Leave town."

They heard the rustle of her feet through the grass, trailing away, and then they were alone. Sam had already started working on the ropes and the only sound was that of the dull knife scraping against the twine. Eventually there was a snap and he fought his way out of the bonds, crawling over to help out Dean, who had managed to loosen up the knots enough to move around a bit, "Why did you tell her our name?"

Sam sawed through Dean's ropes and helped him get unraveled, "Because that was her."

"Her? Her who?" Dean stood and brushed the grass off his jeans.

"The reason we came here in the first place, Dean. My better half." His tone was sarcastic and he walked over to the shovels and bags they had brought, picking them up.

Dean's eyes grew wide and his brows lifted, "You mean that woman…who beat us over the head with shovels, tied us to trees, and pointed a gun at us is your soul mate?" He stared at Sam who only shrugged. Dean shook his head, "Well, that figures. Why do you think that anyway?"

"I just felt…different…around her. Lighter or something."

Dean shot him a critical look, "Lighter? Fluffy bunnies lighter or bubbles in the spring breeze lighter?"

"Shut up. It's her…and I have no idea who she is or what she looks like. She kept that damn light right in my eyes the whole time."

"She works in the medical field," Dean said taking the shovels from Sam to carry.

"How would you know that?"

They started walking back towards the Impala, "Because I looked at her feet. She was wearing muddy boots that were too big for her and scrub pants."

"Maybe she just likes to dig graves in scrubs," Sam said, adjusting the bag over his shoulder.

"Maybe. Or maybe she works a late shift at a hospital, swings over to the cemetery afterwards, throws on some boots that aren't hers and _then_ digs up a grave in scrubs."

"Ok so that brings up another question. Why would a nurse or a doctor or whatever she is be digging up graves in the first place? How would she even know to do that."

"Well, I doubt they ran out of cadavers at the hospital for carving practice so I'm going to assume that she is familiar with the ways of the hunter…somehow. She noticed the signs with the sorority house, followed up and we just happened to show up right as she was finishing the job. Lucky bastards that we are." He rubbed the back of his head with his hand, feeling a large knot forming where the shovel had connected. "Also she must work out."


End file.
